St. Begnet’s Church and Graveyard

St. Begnet’s Church & Graveyard here is dedicated to the local saint, Begnet. It is one of two churches in the area named after Begnet. The other, is on Dalkey Island.

Graveyard: The area around the church was probably used as a burial ground from the 13th century. Most of the burials were in unmarked graves. It is said that up to 2,000 people were buried in here over the centuries. The earliest stone is of someone called Cornelius in 1738. The most recent is Kavanagh in 1930. It is now closed as a place of burial.

The earliest part of the current stone church, dates from the tenth century. Archaeologists believe that there was a wooden church on the site from the 6th or 7th century.

There were various additions to the church over the centuries. These include: the twin bell tower, the chancel and chancel arch in the 13th century.